1. Is the GOP's response to the economic crisis "totally misguided" and based on stale talking points, as David Brooks writes today? If so, what's a better alternative?

2. Is Labor's "card check" bill:
A) The beginning of free choice for workers
B) The end of it
C) Wildly overstated by both sides?

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Send to a friend1. Is the GOP\'s response to the economic crisis "totally misguided" and based on stale talking points, as David Brooks writes today? If so, what\'s a better alternative? 2. Is Labor\'s "card check" bill:A) The beginning of free choice for workersB) The end of it C) Wildly overstated by both sides?

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David Brooks is right that Republicans are misguided in responding to the financial crisis by advocating a spending freeze or by only saying no to Obama. I am not sure that is the sum of their opposition strategy. At times, Republicans have been more nuanced and successful, such as their opposition to the stimulus package. Their argument that the stimulus was full of parochial, unvetted goodies, that it was not targeted or temporary or even as stimulative as it could have been was one that resonated with the public and held almost all of their members together.

What Brooks points out is a reflexive opposition to spending, which seems at odds with most economists across the political spectrum who believe we need to run big deficits in the short term to combat deflationary pressures. The trick for Republicans is to accept the short term deficits, but stress that in stimulating the economy we have to eventually pay back the money and therefore we should spend it wisely. Brooks is also right that Republicans can keep the focus on short term stimulus and a return to long term fiscal responsibility. A coherent Republican message is to argue against an expansion of programs which will add to long term baseline spending when what we need is a short term boost and a long term plan to pay back the run up in debt.

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